The Lonely Island - Incredibad (19 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Lonely Island Blows Up

Gregory Alongi | 02/10/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of The Lonely Island for a while, and it's exciting to see "the dudes" finally start getting recognition for their talents.

I originally thought this album was a joke when it was announced, but I'm very happy it's for real, because it's hilarious.

Musically, it's actually catchy and very solid. I'm sure some people will hear it and not even realize it's a joke at first. Once you pay attention to the lyrics though, it's just amazing.

I do feel that some of the effect is lost by not seeing the creative videos that were made for the songs (although those are included as well), but once you've seen the videos, you'll picture them as you hear the songs anyway.

If you've been a fan of the Saturday Night Live's Digital Shorts, The Lonely Island, or just Andy Samberg, I guarantee you'll enjoy this album."

Some Crucial Omissions Hold This Great Set Back

Circumvrent | NJ USA | 04/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a dedicated SNL watcher through the good and the bad, the Lonely Island guys got my attention - and the attention of a lot of other people - with "Lazy Sunday" a Beastie Boys-esque rap video about two guys going to go see The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe on a Sunday morning. Billed as a "Digital Short," the song became an internet sensation, made Samberg and his writing partners people to watch, and put SNL back in the headlines while spawning a number of imitators.

In the following years, the "Digital Shorts" have become a staple of the show, and sometimes, its high points. But the ones that work the best are the Lonely Island-produced music videos - "D*** in a Box" featuring Justin Timberlake, "I Ran (So Far)," featuring Adam Levine (with a pretty great cameo from Jake Gyllenhaal). So when word hit that The Lonely Island were releasing a CD, it seemed like a no-brainer.

And as an album, it's pretty good. The songs for the most part don't outstay their welcome, and the talent assembled is impressive - Norah Jones, T-Pain, and Natalie Portman (!!) show up on the album's best tracks. The songs recycled from the show are worth an extra listen - without the audience response and the visual, the listener can really sit back and appreciate how musically deft these songs are. Also included is a DVD of some of the videos - a nice companion, and great for the completionist SNL fan.

Unfortunately, there are a few omissions from the show that are really unfortunate. "I Ran" - in my opinion, one of the subtler, smarter, and funnier songs TLI has put together - is nowhere to be found, in either song or video form. Likewise, the T-Pain starring "I'm on a Boat" video - which was aired on the show as a promo for the album - is completely absent as well. That's one of the songs that really needs the visuals to work, as the whole concept behind it springs from music videos featuring rap stars on yachts. The song by itself is great, but loses something without its visual representation, and it's a shame that the video didn't make it on.

As is, this is a great disc, and well worth the price, especially when you consider the DVD. But those omissions keep the set from being truly incredible."

One of the best albums of the year!

Brian | 02/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here's the thing about The Lonely Island dudes...they actually make really good music that could stand on it's own, but the comedy they add to it just takes this album to a whole new level! About half the album is new material that we haven't either seen on SNL or their website, and it's all genius! Highlights for me (of the new material) includes "Like a Boss," the title track "Incredibad," and "Punch You in the Jeans."

I do want to throw a warning out there though...listen to this in the car at your own risk! Driving back from the store after purchasing this I almost crashed I was laughing so hard!"

SNL heroes The Lonely Island unleash uproariously funny 'Inc

Dustin Perry | Sagamihara, Japan | 02/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If asked, a large number of devoted "Saturday Night Live" viewers might say the digital short films are the funniest aspect of the show's recent seasons -- and, "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" notwithstanding, it would be hard to argue with them. Aired on the venerable late-night comedy program since 2005, several of the shorts have become viral video sensations, spawning hundreds of copycat remakes and, in turn, effectively broadening SNL's appeal to that of the Internet Generation.

It is perhaps telling that the prerecorded shorts and the Wahlberg sketch (seriously, Google it) both involve mop-haired writer/cast member Andy Samberg: He and fellow SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone -- better known as comedy team The Lonely Island -- are the creators of the segments, and the trio's penchant for absurd humor is apparent throughout every last one of the three-minute music videos and fake public service announcements produced by the trio thus far.

In particular, TLI's songs are among their most memorable and enduring output -- not just because the lyrics are laugh-until-you-cry hilarious, but also because the group's predominantly rap-based style translates into surprisingly solid tunes, collected for the first time in album form on the unabashedly excellent (and misleadingly titled) "Incredibad."

As a genre, musical comedy has made stars of only a few of its practitioners -- Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords and, to a lesser extent, Adam Sandler -- so it certainly bodes well for TLI that, aside from a handful of quickie interludes that run the gamut from "pretty funny" to "just OK," "Incredibad" is a front-to-back grand slam that absolutely begs for repeat listens.

Opener "Who Said We're Wack?" has the boys angrily and repetitively seeking out an anonymous slanderer who has hurled at them the mild insult taken from the song's title. It quickly establishes the album's underlying theme and effectively highlights TLI's go-to comedic device: paradoxically placing inane, small-scale subject matter in the context of hardcore rap's extravagant beats and boastful lyrical leanings.

Other songs in which this formula is used include "Santana DVX" (more or less a theme song for a made-up champagne endorsed by the famous guitarist), "Like a Boss" (a southern-rap ode to supervisors that quickly devolves into an increasingly graphic bullet list of daily tasks) and the massively popular "Lazy Sunday" (Samberg and SNL alum Chris Parnell hyping about cupcakes and a weekend showing of "The Chronicles of Narnia").

The album includes an extensive roster of guest performers, and I can honestly say there isn't a clunker in the bunch. It is refreshing to see artists like Norah Jones, Julian Casablancas and even the normally intolerable T-Pain step outside their comfort zones and prove they have a sense of humor by delivering oddball choruses on "Dreamgirl," "Boombox" and "I'm on a Boat," respectively.

The album's standout track, for me at least, would have to be "Ras Trent," a scathingly funny riff on an age-old college-student stereotype: the white guy with dreadlocks who is way too into Bob Marley (you know your dorm room had one.) It's essentially Samberg rattling off a laundry list of arbitrary Jamaican slang and Rastafarian references in his corniest possible voice.

It should be mentioned that TLI are wholly unapologetic in their use of profanity (indeed, two of the funniest and most well-known tracks have titles that cannot be printed in this review.) If there is space for an extra F-bomb or explicit anatomical reference, TLI make use of it at least once in every song. Sure to shock any "Star Wars" fanboys who happen to pick up the album is "Incredibad"'s filthiest number, "Natalie's Rap," sung by the adorable and pixie-ish Natalie Portman.

The digital shorts continue to be a regular part of the SNL lineup, evidence that TLI have a knack for visual humor. With "Incredibad" -- and, hopefully, future releases -- they prove to have the audio side of things locked down as well."

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